Hour of 13 - Hour of 13
March 24 2008 at 06:39:30 AM
Surrounded by whispering vapors from the past, redolent of the gods below and already destined to be a cult favorite by the album’s cover, Hour of 13’s debut succeeds where others have fallen far short of the mark, retracing Metal history with long black nails, underlining every passage to produce at last a dark creation that sounds as warm as the words from a crumpled trade paperback or the crackling of a tattered and never to be returned rental VHS ((Doomstone? October 31? Nice try). If the weather seems unsmiling for a night of bedroom black magic then be patient, for Hour of 13 lays the wind, rain, castle stones and rolling cauldron all at your feet. A regression triggered by the guitar’s low-burning gain, analog memories readily sourcing classics like
Sad Wings of Destiny and
Stained Class (“Grim Realty,” “Allowance of Sin”), Pagan Altar’s
Volume 1.,
Black Sabbath and
The Mob Rules (“Submissive To Evil”). Save for an uncanny resemblance to Manilla Road’s Mark Shelton on “Hex of Harm,” the dynamic voice of Phil Swanson moves this record beyond simply reproduction and conveys the assorted rites with all the requisite melodrama and seductive power to makes this not just a passionate nostalgia trip but worth all consideration for it’s own sake.
[Todd DePalma]
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